The present invention relates generally to the field of holders for hand-held tools, and in particular to a holder for cumbersome or weighty tools such as an air gun, power drill and the like wherein the holder is attachable to a user""s clothing such as to a belt or utility belt. More specifically, the present invention relates to a
Tool holders of varying designs have been produced in order to assist the workman in conveniently and safely carrying tools about the work space. Among these tool holders is a class of tool holders for hand-held tools with which the carried tool is disposed at the user""s waist level, generally depending from the user""s clothing such as a belt or utility belt. By utilizing such a holder, the user is not encumbered by the need to carry the tool with either hand, but rather, passively carries the tool within the confines of the holder attached to his clothing.
The prior art is replete with devices for holding tools, including hand-held tools, paint cans and other objects. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,227,336, issued Jan. 4, 1966 to Roy F. Dickey discloses a belt suspended holster including an interior shield disposed within the wearer""s trousers, which is used to protect clothing from gun oil. U.S. Pat. No. 3,285,482, issued Nov. 15, 1966 to James D. Bedsaul, Sr. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,319,704, issued Mar. 16, 1982 to Louis M. Rosen disclose belt clip devices having hip engaging supports. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,921, issued Mar. 12, 1996 to Michael Dancyger et al., a paint can holder is provided which includes a main body looped about the belt and strapping means for securing a paint can.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,830, issued Oct. 7, 1997 to Arthur T. Matthews provides a belt supported pneumatic nail gun holder comprising a support element having slots for adjustably positioning the element onto the user""s belt, a mounting plate fixedly secured to the support element, a hook shaped retaining member secured to the mounting plate and a detachable hook which attaches to the hook shaped retaining member and the tool. The Matthews device is more difficult to manufacture and cumbersome to use. In addition, the use of the slots for engaging the user belt can result in the slots tearing when heavy hand-held tools are used. Further, Matthews does not provide any cushioning means between the tool and the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,125, issued Feb. 27, 2001 to Ralph E. Grover, a locking tool holder is disclosed for mounting to a person""s belt or pocket, the holder comprising a clamping device and a biasing device which clamps and positions the tool respectively. The biasing device of Grover appears to be complicated to manufacture and contains movable parts which could lend to failure of the device.
Despite the teachings of the prior art, a need still exists for a simple yet sturdy holder, particularly for hand-held tools which are not provided with means to easily engage a hook member. Such a hand-held tool holder should be capable of carrying hand-held tools of varying dimensions and weights without the need for complicated adjustment mechanisms. In addition, such a device should be easy to use and should provide a cushioning effect between the hand-held tool and the user. Further, such a device should be of few parts and inexpensive to manufacture.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hand-held tool holder which is capable of carrying tools of varying dimensions and weights.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hand-held tool holder which can accommodate hand-held tools which are not provided with means to easily engage a hook member.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a hand-held tool holder which is simple to use and inexpensive to purchase.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a hand-held tool holder which includes cushioning means between the tool and the user.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hand-held tool holder which is of few parts and inexpensive to manufacture.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part of the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following specification or may be learned by practice of the invention.
These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by providing a hand-held tool holder comprising a belt clip having a hook member integral therewith, a strap member adapted to be secured about the hand-held tool and being provided with an aperture for engaging the hook member, and a cushioning device which maybe integral with the belt-clip or may be a separate component adapted to be introduced over the belt clip.